Music

Nobody really knows who J.P. Cormier is for sure. That’s to be expected, believe me.

In 1974 he was a five year old boy, discovering an innate talent for playing the guitar, I had a little hand in that, guiding him through the beginning stages. He learned faster than I could teach.

By the mid eighties, not out of his teens, he was a sideman for bands and artists of many different genres in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and all across the deep south. As he travelled and worked he added more and more instruments to his arsenal of capabilities. He became indispensable to the bands he worked for.

In the early Nineties, he became a sideman for one of Canada’s favourite sons, Stompin’ Tom Connors and also became a staple of the recordings at Studio H in Halifax. His work with the CBC there, spanned musical, production and arranging duties.

All this before he was 20.

In the mid nineties he reentered the musical scene of his beloved East Coast and the Island called Cape Breton. He exploded onto the trad music scene there as a fiddler, performing some of the most difficult music ever produced by legends like Winston Fitzgerald and Angus Chisholm with a facility that stunned onlookers. Especially those who knew he wasn’t born there, but born in Ontario to Cape Breton parents. Somehow, some way, his music was the real thing, sounding like he had been steeped continually in a handed-down brew of family tradition from the old country.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

His previous gig was in Nashville playing mandolin and banjo in a grammy nominated bluegrass gospel band and performing on the Opry, and playing television shows with the likes of Waylon Jennings. All those people also thought he was one of them, American, reared in the ways of bluegrass, old time and Americana music. They knew he was from Canada, but it just didn’t seem possible.

Then in 1997, something amazing happened.

An album released in Canada, out of nowhere, called Another Morning. This time it was him as a songwriter and a lead singer.

And what a songwriter he turned out to be. Some of the performances on that album are literally part of the musical vocabulary today in the East Coast. Songs like the title cut, and Kelly’s Mountain, The Molly May (co written with his cousin Gervais) and others. It inspired, 25 years ago, some of the biggest names in the business today. People like Dave Gunning, Matt Andersen, David Myles, Joel Plaskett, all of which will tell you: that record changed things.

The Canadian industry thought so too, and it received a juno nomination and won an ECMA.

And that was just the beginning.

36 years later after stepping on stage as professional union musician for the first time at the tender age of 13, JP is still going, and frighteningly, still getting better.

16 albums followed the success of Another Morning, winning 12 more ECMA’s, another Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and 5 Music Nova Scotia Awards. Each album was a snapshot of each thing that he can do. There are fiddle albums, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, tribute records, songwriting collections, a purely astounding spectrum of talent and musical vision.

His catalogue of recordings and the 150 or so records he’s produced on other artists, resemble the tapestry he weaves in live performance. Where he used to carry 3 and 4 piece bands, he tours alone now.

Just him and the instruments.

People still leave his shows confused, amazed and wondering what they just saw. Did they see a storyteller? A Songwriter? Arguably one of the best guitar players in the business today? Someone who crosses the lines between different instruments like there are no lines? Who was that masked man, anyway?

Accolades aside, and there are many from people like Chet Atkins, Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot; JP sees himself as just a performer. He’s shy, but has a razor sharp wit and lightning sense of humour. He can be reserved or edgy to the point no return. He speaks for soldiers, first responders, other artists, the forgotten and lost. He speaks sometimes only for himself and refuses rebuttal.

Of all the things he is, foremost he is an entertainer. I think one of the best.  After you’ve seen what he does, I’m certain you will too.

Laila Biali: Wintersongs & Holiday Classics featuring Jane Bunnett + strings 

In support of her highly-anticipated new album, multi-award winning vocalist, pianist and songwriter Laila Biali brings Wintersongs & Holiday Classics across Canada. Experience winter-inspired original music alongside thrilling arrangements of secular and sacred classics featuring fellow JUNO winner and GRAMMY nominee Jane Bunnett and strings – an enchanted world of snow-swept landscapes, twinkling lights, and the magic of the holiday season.

This concert will also feature a special collaboration with El Sistema Aeolian - a song of peace for the season.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council.

VIP Package includes:

- 1 General Admission concert ticket

- Early entry
- Early merch access
- Access to Pre-Show Soundcheck
- Photo Op w/ Tyler

From portraying Elvis Presley in Walk the Line and garnering a cult following as musician Chris Keller on the CW hit TV show One Tree Hill, to writing and touring with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and Joe Cocker, Tyler Hilton has enjoyed an award-winning career spanning music, film and television.

Born and raised in California, Tyler grew up in a family of talented musicians who had played for acts like Fleetwood Mac, George Harrison and Donovan. Performing with his family from an early age, Hilton became serious about songwriting at 14. At 15, he called into L.A.’s KLOS radio station to win concert tickets and ended up wowing the hosts with an on-air performance. The station made him a regular guest and helped launch his debut record, which caught the ear of Warner Bros. Records, who signed him to record his second album The Tracks of Tyler Hilton, earning him two Top 40 singles.

Tyler then landed the dream gig of portraying Elvis in Golden Globe-winning Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, opposite Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. “I’d never done any kind of professional acting, but got quite the education from those two. They were pros, and so patient.” Two of his recordings featured on the film’s Grammy-winning soundtrack and his portrayal of the late legend helped launch an acting career which has since seen him star alongside Robert Downey Jr. in the 2007 film Charlie Bartlett and opposite Halle Berry in CBS series Extant.

However, it was Tyler’s musical role in One Tree Hill that helped build the devoted, global fan base he has today. The series heavily featured songs from his third album, 2012’s Forget the Storm, which reached #2 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums Chart. Tyler also featured on the show’s soundtracks with fan favorites like “When the Stars Go Blue” and “Missing You.” “I played the worst kind of person on the show, and still the fans totally took me in and connected with my music. It was an incredible fan base to be a part of!”

Following 2014’s Indian Summer, Tyler released his proudest body of work yet, 2019’s City on Fire, featuring a collaboration with Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley (an ex-roommate). The album, rooted in Hilton’s signature cinematic folk-rock stylings, was featured heavily in film and TV including Showtime’s Shameless. The star-studded video for the record’s gritty lead single, “City on Fire,” was directed by Tyler’s wife, Megan Park, an award-winning director, writer and actress. A video for the album’s second single, “When I See You, I See Home,” features footage of the couple’s 2015 nuptials and their baby daughter, Winnie, born in 2019.

Alongside working on his retro-inspired 6th studio album (expected Spring 2021) which will include a dark take on Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally” – released in early 2020, following the singer’s death – Tyler and longtime collaborator Jaco Caraco (Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson) have been writing and producing new music for Billy Ray Cyrus’ soon-to-be released follow up to 2019’s record-shattering “Old Town Road.”

Hilton has been featured everywhere from Rolling Stone and People’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” to The Tonight Show and TRL. Additionally, he co-starred in a #1 MTV music video with Taylor Swift, a longtime fan, for her song, “Teardrops Drops on My Guitar,” which was nominated for an MTV Music Video Award. Tyler and Megan also starred in the #1 CMT music video for Gloriana’s “Kissed You Goodnight.”

Tyler currently lives in Los Angeles and Ontario, Canada.

This Internationally touring band of celebrated songwriters greet every stage with a genuine, quirky presence and unbottled chemistry. Their sibling harmonies and familial banter quickly connects them to their audience. Whether The Pairs are playing an intimate house concert or a sold out show at a performing arts centre, these classically trained vocalists make it their mission to employ three part harmony and honest storytelling as the mighty tools that soften and connect us. The Pairs will release their fourth studio album in spring 2025. This record aims to encapsulate the authentic, minimalistic, and acoustic style performances this trio has become known for.

Ernesto Cervini’s Joy 

The Music of Three Pines

Welcome to the musical world of Three Pines! Born from the imagination of JUNO Award winning drummer and composer Ernesto Cervini, and inspired by the incredible village from Louise Penny’s “Gamache” detective series, this show features music inspired by the characters and emotions from the series, and endeavours to capture the spirit of the books; about goodness and decency, about integrity, courage and love.

“Three Pines is a state of mind. When we choose tolerance over hate. Kindness over cruelty. Goodness over bullying. When we choose to be hopeful, not cynical. Then we live in Three Pines.” - Louise Penny

The performance will showcase a collection of Canada’s finest musicians, and features 15 original compositions by Cervini which were written based on the characters and themes of Penny’s 17 novels (to date.) These songs will be interwoven with excerpts from the books describing the characters and stories to which they refer.

From Ernesto Cervini: About 5 years ago, I was introduced to the world of Three Pines by my sister, Amy Cervini. I started reading Louise Penny’s books, and I completely fell in love. I was captured by the storytelling, and the incredible characters. Although they are detective novels, the books are filled with kindness and joy, and I was inspired to write music that reflects the themes and characters in the books.

This project is a departure for me, as I’ve generally worked and written music for specific bands (Turboprop, TuneTown, Tetrahedron) based on disparate themes and inspirations, but this is the first time I’ve used a common theme to create a whole album’s worth of music.

The new album, entitled Joy was released on Friday, October 7th, 2022 on TPR Records and was nominated for a 2023 Juno Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo.

Touring Band:

Ernesto Cervini: drums & compositions

Tara Davidson: Saxophones

Kelly Jefferson: saxophones

William Carn: trombone

Dan Fortin: bass

Adrean Farrugia: piano

Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals, Great Lake Swimmers are a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led by songwriter/vocalist Tony Dekker. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. The music developed in that pastoral warmth, performed and recorded in acoustically unique and historical locales with a revolving cast of personnel. They are renowned for their homespun folk and lush, intimate Americana in their live set.

Great Lake Swimmers celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2023 with “Uncertain Country,” an album where doubts are followed by discovery, demos end up as finished tracks, and themes of new beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time form the basis of the eleven new songs.

It follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Recorded in different locales—and with a variety of musicians—a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: from the climate crisis to the ever-changing political landscape. The “uncertain country” chosen as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.

“Moonlight, Stay Above” epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. A 10-voice strong women’s choir (Niagara's Minuscule) lifts the lonely-sounding and wistful song up. As with that addition, the band on each album is fluid and always evolving.

Great Lake Swimmers were shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and nominated twice for Canada’s Juno Awards, with the CBC calling them “a national treasure.”

“Dekker's preoccupation with the Canadian state of mind flourishes in his lyrics. Few songwriters are able to convey the country's harsh beauty as well. …Canadian folk tradition personified in the 21st century” – Exclaim!

“Dekker has done a masterful job of finding that balance on The Waves, the Wake, which has enough connections to the past to satisfy long-time fans of Great Lake Swimmers even while the singer looks to the future and moves forward as an artist.” – The Georgia Straight

“A minimalist, atmospheric compendium of songs with a sonic environment the listener can easily get lost in.” – The Vue

“Ambient Zen Americana” - Mojo

Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals, Great Lake Swimmers are a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led by songwriter/vocalist Tony Dekker. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. The music developed in that pastoral warmth, performed and recorded in acoustically unique and historical locales with a revolving cast of personnel. They are renowned for their homespun folk and lush, intimate Americana in their live set.

Great Lake Swimmers celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2023 with “Uncertain Country,” an album where doubts are followed by discovery, demos end up as finished tracks, and themes of new beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time form the basis of the eleven new songs.

It follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Recorded in different locales—and with a variety of musicians—a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: from the climate crisis to the ever-changing political landscape. The “uncertain country” chosen as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.

“Moonlight, Stay Above” epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. A 10-voice strong women’s choir (Niagara's Minuscule) lifts the lonely-sounding and wistful song up. As with that addition, the band on each album is fluid and always evolving.

Great Lake Swimmers were shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and nominated twice for Canada’s Juno Awards, with the CBC calling them “a national treasure.”

“Dekker's preoccupation with the Canadian state of mind flourishes in his lyrics. Few songwriters are able to convey the country's harsh beauty as well. …Canadian folk tradition personified in the 21st century” – Exclaim!

“Dekker has done a masterful job of finding that balance on The Waves, the Wake, which has enough connections to the past to satisfy long-time fans of Great Lake Swimmers even while the singer looks to the future and moves forward as an artist.” – The Georgia Straight

“A minimalist, atmospheric compendium of songs with a sonic environment the listener can easily get lost in.” – The Vue

“Ambient Zen Americana” - Mojo

Every few millennia, a comic emerges, born from the cosmic soup of fate and time, jostled by the gales of change onto the unpredictable shores of comedic brilliance. This is a man who embodies pluck and wit, lighthearted yet encumbered, and a naivete that somehow remains endearing.  As Derek says:  In the grand contest of life, he stands proudly as a bona fide "participant."

Well ... truth be told, there’s a lot more to it than that.  From Vegas to St. John's, this Just For Laughs veteran is universally considered to be among the comic elite. Certainly his peers think so, as evidenced by the fact that he's a four-time nominee, and winner of Best Standup Comic - Canadian Comedy Awards, as well as a multiple Gemini nominee for Best Performance in a Comedy. As Rick Mercer says, "Everyone knows Derek is the funniest man in Canada."

Clearly the critics agree: "5 STARS - the funniest man on earth" - Winnipeg Free Press; "4 STARS - the crowd howled" - Victoria Times Colonist; "still the funniest man in Canada" - Toronto Sun; "Edwards reigns as the King of Canadian comedy" - Charlottetown Guardian; "Derek Edwards is hysterical" - Calgary Sun; "Edwards takes stand-up to next stage" - Georgia Straight; "the epitome of timing & storytelling" - Halifax Chronicle Herald; "the comedian's comedian" - London Free Press.

So come on out and join Derek for his latest show, Oxy Moron, as it makes its way across Canada. Expect a night of perceptive guesswork and charmingly misguided jabs from a cherished performer. Enjoy some hearty laughs, a sprinkling of wisdom, and the pleasure of mingling with fellow humans. It's a triple win!

Old Man Luedecke is the recording name of two time JUNO award winning and Polaris prize  nominated singer songwriter Chris Luedecke. A multiple East Coast Music Award winner  known for his high energy banjo driven stompers, touching guitar ballads and dry humorous  stories, Luedecke has been making a soundtrack to an authentic life for nearly twenty years.  

Born in Toronto and long time resident of the country near Chester Nova Scotia, Luedecke  began recording in the early 2000’s DIY folk scene of Halifax. He made his two JUNO winning  albums for Black Hen Music in the late 00s with Steve Dawson as producer at Vancouver’s  famed Factory studio. While on a tour of England in 2009, he met and supported folk roots  legend Tim O’Brien who produced Luedecke’s next two albums. Tender is the Night was  recorded at John’s Prine’s Butcher Shoppe Studio in Nashville in 2012 and 2015’s Domestic  Eccentric was recorded in a cabin Luedecke built himself at his home in NS. 2019 saw  Luedecke recording Easy Money at both the Banff Centre in Alberta and at Hotel2Tango in  Montreal.  

Songs like I quit my Job at the beginning of his career and the Early Days at the beginning of  his family and dozens of other fan favourites trace a warm line of effort, sadness and joy and  provide a soundtrack to many peoples’ own progress through adulthood, touching a rare place  of truth and charm in the holiness of the mundane. His performing style with his easy going  humour and storytelling creates a rare space of hopeful and intimate magic.  

Luedecke has kept up many worldwide concert appearances, playing in Europe and around  Canada and the USA and six trips to Australia, including a memorable tour where his whole  young family travelled with him around rural Queensland for the Festival of Small Halls.  

In May 2022 Luedecke was awarded an honorary doctorate from King’s University in Halifax for  his cultural contributions. 

London City Roots is a brand new Showcase Tour highlighting the incredible artistic talent that is on the rise in Canada's one & only UNESCO City of Music. A can't miss historic show featuring the future of music in Canada showcasing some of the top award winning talent from all genres in the Forest City.